TRUCKS: Cory Roper gives #04 first Truck Series last-place finish

PHOTO: @RoperRacingTeam

Cory Roper picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s LiftKits4Less.com 200 at the Darlington Raceway when his #04 Tech-Net Professional Ford fell out in a wreck after 13 of 147 laps.

The finish came in Roper’s 33rd series start. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the first for the #04, the 111th for Ford, and the 167th from a crash. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 18th for the #04, the 973rd for Ford, and the 1,250th from a crash.

The Texas-born Roper – of no apparent relation to the late Tony Roper from the same series – has similarly worked his way into NASCAR with a small team. He has done so as an owner-driver, fielding his red #04 Fords with several flashes of brilliance. On March 26, 2018, he turned heads in his debut at Martinsville, finishing a strong 13th, then in 2019 established himself as a fast qualifier, taking 5th on the grid in Las Vegas and 7th at Charlotte. He’d planned to run the full schedule in both 2019 and 2020, but each time had to scale back due to a lack of funding, often missing much of the season’s second half.

A full-time effort has again been the goal for 2021, where Roper came closer than he ever has to reaching victory lane. He did so at Daytona, where in his first three attempts, he’s shown surprising speed each time. In 2019, he worked his way up to 2nd when he was knocked into a spin off Turn 4, leaving him 20th. In 2020, he came home on the lead lap in 14th. Then came this past February, where Roper locked onto the rear bumper of Sheldon Creed on the final lap of an overtime finish. Creed threw the block, causing Roper to bounce off the outside wall, but he still managed a pass to the inside of Turn 1. Roper led all the way to the tri-oval, when he was split by Ben Rhodes and Jordan Anderson. Roper finished 3rd, improving on his career-best 9th from Texas in 2019.

Roper has been looking to regain that form ever since. Coming into Friday’s race, he’d finished no better than 31st and twice gave over the wheel to Cup rookie Chase Briscoe. Briscoe finished 5th with the team during the Bristol Dirt Race, then 19th the last time out in Kansas.

Also prior to Darlington, the #04 was one of just 13 numbers to have never finished last in a Truck Series points race. Prior to Roper’s series debut in 2018, the number hadn’t run in the series since August 20 2008, when Patrick Carpentier finished 25th at Bristol. He drove for the late Bobby Hamilton, who Roper would honor in the race itself. Specifically, the team ran the Tech-Net scheme that Hamilton himself drove during the 2005 season, winning at both Daytona and Mansfield and finishing sixth in the standings. This turned out to be Hamilton’s final full-time season in the series before his passing two years later.

Incidentally, Timothy Peters and the Rackley-WAR team would also honor Bobby Hamilton in the race with the familiar Square D scheme on their #25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet. Peters would line up 21st for the race with Roper not far behind in 29th.

Cory Roper after he hit the wall
PHOTO: Luis Torres, @TheLTFiles

Rolling off 40th and last was Norm Benning, who again ran the blue-and-yellow scheme from Marcus Lemonis’ Camping World and Overtons underdog sponsorship efforts (this time running the former). The truck was also without enough tape inside the windshield, as Benning was among the many who complained they couldn’t see the track due to the extreme glare coming off Turn 2 and onto the backstretch. Benning would be joined at the back by 23rd-place starter Akinori Ogata, who missed the rookie meeting. Ogata’s #34 Kyowa Industrial Toyota carried a “throwback” scheme of Kenji Momota’s #71, which ran in the second-ever Truck Series race at Phoenix in 1995.

When the green flag dropped, Ogata pulled ahead of Benning, who was 4.917 seconds ack of the lead. The team noticed Benning’s engine sounded rough by Lap 2, when he was already 2.585 seconds back of new 39th-place runner Jennifer Jo Cobb in the #10 Fastener Supply Company Chevrolet. As Benning, Cobb, and Ogata each ran by themselves on the track, Benning was almost immediately in danger of losing a lap. Heading down the backstretch on Lap 7, race leader John Hunter Nemechek attempted to pull to Benning’s inside when the #6 was already committed to the low lane. Unable to get out of the way in time, Nemechek checked-up, causing Austin Hill to make a pass for the lead. On Lap 9, NASCAR warned Benning that “once that 6 gets out of traffic, he's gonna need to pick up his speed quite a bit.” He was then black-flagged to make repairs on Lap 12, when Benning declared his motor was damaged.

That same time by, Roper was running by himself when an apparent right-front tire failure sent him into the outside wall in Turn 3, then again in Turns 1 and 2. NASCAR didn’t immediately throw the caution as he pulled to the inside lane and made it to pit road, instead waiting for the originally scheduled competition yellow on Lap 15. This apparently made someone on Roper’s crew think they could go to the garage for repairs since they didn’t draw the caution. They must have been corrected – or quickly found their truck wouldn’t easily make the turn – as they continued repairs on pit road, losing multiple laps.

Kris Wright and Codie Rohrbaugh tangle
PHOTO: Luis Torres, @TheLTFiles

On Lap 18, when Roper took last from Benning, the #04 crew asked their driver if he could get back out and meet minimum speed. “I can get the speed,” said Roper. “But the brake rotor’s shattered.” With that, the team said, “Okay, we’re done.” The crew first tried to push the truck behind the wall, but the right-front was damaged so badly it couldn’t roll. NASCAR waved off the restart to dispatch a wrecker to the stall, getting the truck to the garage area, done for the night. 

Benning continued on after his team’s lone attempt to make adjustments, but they continued to struggle for speed. The driver said his low speed was due to his being told to run the low line, and that when he ran the preferred line, his times were fine. He also believed other entries – specifically Jennifer Jo Cobb’s #10 – were not being docked for running below minimum speed. These communications came after Lap 64, when NASCAR black-flagged him for a second time, sending him behind the wall. He only finished 37th as by then another early wreck collected Kris Wright in the #02 WrightCars.com Chevrolet – a throwback to Ron Hornaday, Jr.’s GM Goodwrench Chevrolet – and Codie Rohrbaugh in the #9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Chase Purdy, whose #23 BamaBuggies.com Chevrolet – decorated like Davey Allison’s Camaro from his ASA days – was eliminated in a single-truck crash.

Carson Hocevar had a career night under the lights at Darlington, finishing 3rd in Stage 2 and 3rd overall at the finish. Driving a throwback scheme to Johnny Benson’s #10 Valvoline Pontiac from 2001 through 2003, Hocevar’s #42 Scott’s / GM Parts Now Chevrolet made several daring moves in the late stages, including a three-wide pass entering Turn 3 and a door-banging defense of his spot against Johnny Sauter. He also led his first lap of the season, pacing the field on Lap 95.

Also impressive was Timmy Hill, who overcame a significant setback in his 1997 Kenny Irwin, Jr. throwback scheme. Like Hocevar, Hill entered the battle in Stage 2, taking 6th at the end of the stage in his #56 LiftKits4Less.com Chevrolet. But on Lap 111, when slowing for a crashing Tanner Gray on the frontstretch, Hill was run over by an out-of-control Akinori Ogata, sending all three into the inside wall. Hill’s truck was the only one still rolling, though he lost two laps in the process. By the run to the finish, Hill had made it through the night’s biggest wreck and was back on the lead lap, taking 7th at the finish.

Running 9th was Austin Wayne Self, who honored his current spotter Tony Raines and his former #19 Pennzoil entry. Self’s #22 AM Technical Solutions / Go Texan Chevrolet climbed into contention in the final laps to take 9th, just one spot ahead of an equally impressive Jordan Anderson. Anderson’s #3 Rusty’s Off Road / Bommarito.com Chevrolet, a throwback to Mark Martin’s 1982 Cup Series entry, worked its way up from 31st on the starting grid.

When the field was whittled down by a massive restart wreck, Danny Bohn, Stewart Friesen, and Parker Kligerman were also in position for Top Tens, only to each drop out in the final moments. Bohn spun out of 10th while Kligerman blew a right-front tire in Turns 1 and 2, collecting Friesen. Bohn ended up 18th with Friesen and Kligerman 25th and 26th, respectively.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*Roper’s is the first Ford to finish last in a Truck Series race at Darlington.

*Roper is the fifth first-time Truck Series last-place finisher in the last seven races.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

40) #04-Cory Roper / 13 laps / crash

39) #02-Kris Wright / 25 laps / dvp

38) #9-Codie Rohrbaugh / 26 laps / dvp

37) #6-Norm Benning / 61 laps / too slow

36) #23-Chase Purdy / 80 laps / crash

2021 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Niece Motorsports (3)

2nd) GMS Racing (2)

3rd) CMI Motorsports, Norm Benning Racing, Roper Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (6)

2nd) Ford, Toyota (1)

2021 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: Throwback schemes - and even a couple throwback drivers - on hand for big weekend in Darlington

PHOTO: @JohnnyBensonWeb

Friday, May 7, 2021

TRUCKS Race 8 of 22

LiftKits4Less.com 200 at Darlington

2020 Last-Place Finisher (September): Bryant Barnhill

ENTRY LIST

There are 43 drivers entered for 40 spots, but metric qualifying has already set the field, sending home Trey Hutchens (#14), Ray Ciccarelli (#49), and Todd Peck (#96).

DRIVER CHANGE: #9-CR7 Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #98-ThorSport Racing

Darlington will again see Grant Enfinger run for ThorSport in place of Christian Eckes, llowing Codie Rohrbaugh back to his own #9 entry.

DID NOT QUALIFY: #14-Trey Hutchens Racing

Trey Hutchens does not qualify for the fourth time in 2021 and his third time in a row.

RETURNING: #17-David Gilliland Racing

David Gilliland makes the cut in his own Black’s Tire entry, returning to the series for the first time since Las Vegas, where a crash left him 39th out of the 40 starters. This will be Gilliland’s 20th series start.

DRIVER SWAP: #24-GMS Racing

DRIVER CHANGE / DID NOT QUALIFY: #49-CMI Motorsports

Ray Ciccarelli was slated to run the #49, which did not qualify, taking the place of Ryan Reed, who finished last in Kansas. Reed will himself move to GMS Racing’s #24, a ride freed up after Raphael Lessard and GMS parted ways earlier this week.

MISSING: #32-Bret Holmes Racing

Bret Holmes is not entered following a late-race stall at Kansas that left him 27th.

DRIVER CHANGE: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #34-Reaume Brothers Racing

Earlier this year, Akinori Ogata was among the first to announce their Truck Series “throwback” scheme, honoring fellow Japanese racer Kenji Momota. Momota made his only Truck Series start in 1995 at Phoenix, running a brightly-colored #71 Marukatsu Chevrolet for Randy MacDonald. Momota finished 37th of 40 after an early crash. Ogata was originally listed in the #33, which Jesse Iwuji drove last week in Kansas, but by mid-week he’d been moved to the #34, replacing C.J. McLaughlin. Driving the #33 this week is B.J. McLeod, who will run all three races this weekend.

DRIVER SWAP: #44-Niece Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Niece Motorsports

After a strong run in Kansas where he ran as high as 3rd for the final restart before he fell to 12th at the finish, Bayley Currey will again run the Truck Series race at Darlington. This time, he moves from the #45 to the #44, taking the place of Cup regular Ross Chastain. Driving the #45 is a “throwback” in his own right: Erik Darnell. While active in short tracks, Darnell has not competed in any of NASCAR’s top three series since 2012, and hasn’t run a Truck Series race since the 2008 finale at Homestead, where he closed out a 4th-place finish in the standings for Roush-Fenway Racing. Darnell will bring back his familiar Northern Tool + Equipment paint scheme from that year, this time the #45 in place of Roush’s #99. Darnell has never competed in a Truck Series race at Darlington.

DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Kyle Busch Motorsports

After Kyle Busch scored yet another Truck Series win in Kansas, Corey Heim will get to make his NASCAR national series debut at one of the sport’s most difficult tracks. Heim arrives fresh off his third ARCA Menards Series win at Talladega, already his second win of the 2021 season, where he holds a 13-point lead over Drew Dollar through last Saturday’s event in Kansas.

RETURNING: #75-Henderson Motorsports

Parker Kligerman returns along with the Charlie Henderson crew for what will be their fourth start of the season and first since Bristol, where they tied their season-best 8th-place finish from Las Vegas. Kligerman’s only previous Truck start here came back in 2011, he finished 14th for the now-defunct Brad Keselowski Racing.

RETURNING / DID NOT QUALIFY: #96-Peck Racing

Todd Peck was set to return in the Holla Vodka Chevrolet, which we last saw fail to make the show in this year’s Daytona opener. Unfortunately, the team joins Hutchens and Ciccarelli on the wrong side of the cut line.

DRIVER CHANGE: #04-Roper Racing

Cory Roper returns in place of Cup regular Chase Briscoe with TechNet Professional as the listed sponsor of his #04 Ford.

CUP INVADERS: None

OTHER NOTABLE THROWBACKS:

#2-Sheldon Creed brings back Ultra Motorsports' Team ASE scheme from the early 2000s

#3-Jordan Anderson running Mark Martin's Apache Stove paint scheme from 1982

#11-Spencer Davis running Darrell Waltrip's Toyota paint scheme from the mid-2000s

#19-Derek Kraus (2003 NAPA) and #30-Danny Bohn (1988 Country Time) both honor Michael Waltrip

#20-Spencer Boyd in Jack Sprague's #60 Con-way Freight scheme from 2007

#21-Zane Smith in Glen Wood's 1957 paint scheme (also run by Paul Menard in Cup in 2019)

#22-Austin Wayne Self in a Tony Raines Pennzoil scheme

#23-Chase Purdy running Davey Allison's short track Camaro paint scheme

#25-Timothy Peters honors Bobby Hamilton with the early 2000s Square D paint scheme

#26-Tyler Ankrum in the Wonder Bread paint scheme Will Ferrell ran in "Talladega Nights."

#42-Carson Hocevar will run the 2001-2003 Johnny Benson, Jr. Valvoline scheme

#52-Stewart Friesen runs the Tim Richmond Folger’s scheme with Jimmy Means’ car number

#56-Timmy Hill runs the Kenny Irwin, Jr.’s 1997 Truck Series scheme for Jim Herrick

#02-Kris Wright in the silver-and-black Ron Hornaday, Jr. Goodwrench throwback

Saturday, May 8, 2021

XFINITY Race 9 of 33

Steakhouse Elite 200 at Darlington

2020 Last-Place Finisher (May 21): Stephen Leicht

ENTRY LIST

There were 43 drivers entered for 40 spots, resulting in the same three DNQs since Daytona: Jordan Anderson Racing’s #31, Bassett Racing’s #77, and Our Motorsports’ #03.

DRIVER CHANGE: #13-Motorsports Business Management

MBM owner Carl Long honors the life of Thee Dixon, who first gave him a chance to compete in the Cup Series. His #13 will run one of the Dixon’s most recognizable paint schemes – the #13 Glidden Paints Chevrolet, which campaigned from 1990 through 1992. The full story of this car and team is coming in the upcoming Episode 7 of my YouTube series “Rise of The Field Fillers.” Driving the car this week is Matt Jaskol, who returns to the XFINITY Series for the first time since his 28th-place debut at Martinsville. Jaskol replaces Jason White, who had mechanical trouble at Talladega and finished 39th.

RETURNING: #17-Rick Ware Racing / SS-Green Light Racing

J.J. Yeley returns to the XFINITY Series this Saturday along with the Ware / SS-Green Light effort. The #17 team runs a more recent “throwback” to the green Valvoline paint schemes run by the likes of Matt Kenseth and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., this time with Workpro as sponsor. The team last ran at Martinsville, where Yeley finished 24th.

DRIVER CHANGE: #23-Our Motorsports

Welcome back Tanner Berryhill, who hasn’t made a start in NASCAR’s top three series since his brief run with Obaika Racing’s Cup effort in 2018. For the XFINITY Series, it’s been even longer since he’s taken the green flag – October 4, 2014 at Kansas, when he drove for his family’s team. Berryhill takes the place of Natalie Decker, who finished 24th in Talladega.

DRIVER CHANGE: #26-Sam Hunt Racing

One of the most distinctive “throwback” schemes on the XFINITY side has to be the 1997 Hot Wheels colors for Brandon Gdovic on the #26 SnapMobile.shop Toyota. Gdovic takes the place of Collin Garrett, who ran a solid 15th in Talladega to keep going the team’s strong start with Santino Ferrucci earlier this year.

DRIVER CHANGE: #54-Joe Gibbs Racing

Ty Gibbs will run one of no less than three Dale Jarrett throwback schemes in Saturday’s race. His will be the green-and-black Interstate Batteries scheme that D.J. ran to victory in the 1993 Daytona 500. Also running Jarrett cars are two variations of the popular UPS Ford – Jeremy Clements’ #51 carries the 2006 version while Brandon Brown’s #68 runs the 2002-2003 livery. Gibbs takes the place of Ty Dillon, who ran 35th after a crash in Talladega.

DRIVER CHANGE: #90-DGM Racing

In the second leg of his triple-header, B.J. McLeod will run for Mario Gosselin this week, running a throwback to Kenny Schrader’s 1985 rookie car with Junie Donlavey’s team. McLeod takes the place of Caesar Bacarella, who ran 38th after damage at Talladega.

CUP INVADERS: None

OTHER NOTABLE THROWBACKS:

#1-Michael Annett in the DiGard version of the Gatorade car run in the late 1970s

#2-Myatt Snider in a Jimmie Lewallen throwback

#6-Ryan Vargas running Mark Martin’s Valvoline colors from 1992-1995

#7-Justin Allgaier running Dale Earnhardt's 2000 Daytona 500 "Taz" scheme

#8-Josh Berry running Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s winning Budweiser scheme from the 2001 Pepsi 400

#10-Jeb Burton, the series’ most recent winner, honors his father Ward with 1996 MBNA car

#11-Justin Allgaier running the first Leaf Filter scheme Blake Koch ran in 2014 with Go FAS Racing

#15-Colby Howard honors his father Rodney Howard with his late model paint scheme

#16-A.J. Allmendinger in his own Cup paint scheme from first Cup win at Watkins Glen in 2014

#18-Daniel Hemric follows up Daniel Suarez' and B.J. McLeod's with another Red Farmer car

#19-Brandon Jones runs the paint scheme Arnold Motorsports introduced on Todd Bodine's truck team with Bob Germain

#36-Alex Labbe in Kenny Wallace’s Red Dog Ford from the mid-90s Busch Series

#44-Tommy Joe Martins in Rich Bickle’s 10-10-345 paint scheme from 1999

#47-Kyle Weatherman running Richard Petty’s 1981 Daytona 500 winning scheme

#48-Jade Buford honors Dan Gurney with his 1970 Trans Am paint scheme

#66-Timmy Hill in the Duraflame paint scheme run by Rusty Wallace’s Busch team in 2004

#74 Bayley Currey in the 1981 Bobby Allison “Tuf-Lon” silver-and-black scheme

#92-Josh Williams honors the late Rusty Crews with a war-torn street stock scheme

#98-Riley Herbst in Tony Stewart's rookie Cup scheme with Home Depot from 1999

#99-Ryan Ellis runs his grandfather Vic Ellis' dirt racing scheme from the 1950s

#07-Joe Graf, Jr. running the DeLorean from "Back to the Future"

Sunday, May 9, 2021

CUP Race 12 of 36

Goodyear 400 at Darlington

2020 Last-Place Finisher (May 17): Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.

ENTRY LIST

There are 37 drivers entered for 40 spots, down two entries from last week. This marks the ninth short field in 12 races this season, and for just the second time in 2021 (the other at Martinsville), Ryan Preece’s #37 entry is the only “open” team in the field.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing

James Davison honors fellow Australian NASCAR driver Dick Johnson, who ran the Redkote paint scheme in the late 1980s and early 1990s part-time in Cup. Davison, who takes the place of teammate Joey Gase, carries returning sponsorship from Hopegivers.

MISSING: #33-Penske Racing

Austin Cindric is not entered in Sunday’s race after a strong run in Kansas was undone late by contact, leaving him 22nd.

DRIVER CHANGE: #53-Rick Ware Racing

J.J. Yeley will return to Cup on Sunday for his first start in the series since Talladega, where he ran 26th in Ware’s #15. This time, he runs the #53 in place of Garrett Smithley, who ran 33rd in Kansas.

MISSING: #55-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

Matt Mills and the B.J. McLeod Cup effort are not entered in Sunday’s race after Mills finished next-to-last in his series debut at Kansas, though still under power.

OTHER NOTABLE THROWBACKS:

#3-Austin Dillon honoring Smokey Yunick and Fireball Roberts, who also campaigned #3

#7-Corey LaJoie (1989-1990 Zerex) and #9-Chase Elliott (1991-1993 Hooters) honoring Alan Kulwicki

#8-Tyler Reddick honoring country music legend and part-time racer Marty Robbins

#10-Aric Almirola in the flame scheme that Mark Martin ran in the Busch Series in 2000

#11-Denny Hamlin honoring Julius "Slick" Johnson's Seamless Machine paint scheme

#14-Chase Briscoe running A.J. Foyt's 1986 Gilmore paint scheme - even a matching helmet

#23-Bubba Wallace running Wendell Scott's colors along with throwback logos

#24-William Byron running Neil Bonnett's Valvoline colors with the RahMoc team from 1987-1988.

#34-Michael McDowell in Bill Elliott's 1985 Southern 500 winning scheme

#38-Anthony Alfredo in Alan Kulwicki's 1985 Hardee's paint scheme

#42-Ross Chastain in the last McDonald’s paint scheme to win a Cup race in 1994

#48-Alex Bowman running his crew chief Greg Ives' late model paint scheme

#52-Josh Bilicki honoring Lennie Pond with the Burger King paint scheme from 1979

#77-Justin Haley in Robert Pressley’s Jasper Engines paint scheme in Cup from 1998-1999

#78-B.J. McLeod honoring Cup champion and 1963 Southern 500 winner Joe Weatherly

#00-Quin Houff (1997 RCA) and #43-Erik Jones (1999 STP) honoring John Andretti

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (May 6, 1961): Richard Petty picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in the Rebel 300 at Darlington when his #43 1961 Plymouth dropped out with engine trouble after 11 laps. This was the first of three last-place finishes “The King” had at Darlington. The other two were August 31, 1986 in the Southern 500 and on March 27, 1988 in the TranSouth 500. Both of those finishes were due to crashes after 6 and 4 laps, respectively.

ARCA: Scott Melton eliminated in first-lap crash at Kansas

PHOTO: @DnfRacers

by William Soquet

LASTCAR.info Guest Contributor

Scott Melton finished last for the third time in his ARCA Menards Series career when his #69 Melton-McFadden Insurance Agency Chevrolet exited after a crash, completing 0 of 100 laps in Saturday’s Dutch Boy 150 at Kansas Speedway.

The finish came in Melton’s 22nd career series start and was his first since last year at Kentucky, 18 races ago.

Much like his 2019 season, Melton ran mostly superspeedways in 2020, and turned in three top-ten finishes with a best of ninth in the season finale at Kansas. He seems set to run much the same schedule this year - Kansas was his third start in 2021. He was caught up in an early wreck at Daytona but finished tenth at Talladega just one week ago.

The entry list topped out at 20 cars, a respectable figure for an intermediate. In support of injured competitor Derrick Lancaster, ARCA machines were adorned with “29” decals on the A-post for the race weekend. Greg Van Alst entered his own car for his first non-drafting start of the season, and Alex Clubb took the wheel of the Richmond Clubb Motorsports entry for the first time this season. Derek Griffith continued his part-time slate with Venturini Motorsports, and Justin Carroll made his first intermediate start of his career in his family’s #91 car. Fast Track Racing filled out their stable of four cars with Jason Miles, Dick Doheny, Owen Smith and DL Wilson.

A one hour combined practice/qualifying session Saturday morning set the starting lineup for the afternoon’s race. Dick Doheny, driving Fast Track Racing’s #11 car, anchored the charts with a lap of 37.559 seconds, just about seven seconds off of pole winner and race winner Ty Gibbs’ pace.

The field was fairly even at the drop of the green flag. Doheny was the last car across the line, immediately preceded by Brad Smith, who dropped back from his 16th-place starting position to be 19th across the line. Just as that pair hit the exit of turn two on the opening lap, third-place starter Corey Heim pulled down to the inside of polesitter Gibbs and second-place starter Bret Holmes, locking them into a three-wide battle into turn three on the opening lap. Holmes, the middle car, got loose in the middle of the corner, was turned around without contact from anybody else, and started to slide up the track. Greg Van Alst and Derek Griffith took escape routes right along the outside wall and avoided contact with Holmes, but Melton tried to cut down to the inside lane. He did not make it through and made vicious contact with Holmes’ driver's side door, immediately ending the race for both drivers.

After the ensuing red flag, the bottom five filled up fairly quickly. Owen Smith, Doheny and Brad Smith all retired within the first quarter of the race with various mechanical issues. On the flip side of the spectrum, Alex Clubb scored his first-career top ten in ARCA competition. The tenth-place finish was also the first top-ten for the new Richmond Clubb Motorsports team, which debuted at Daytona this year.

ILLUSTRATED BOTTOM FIVE
Special thanks to @DnfRacers for all photos featured this week

20) #69-Scott Melton / 0 laps / crash

19) #23-Bret Holmes / 0 laps / crash

18) #01-Owen Smith / 9 laps / electrical

17) #11-Dick Doheny / 12 laps / vibration

16) #48-Brad Smith / 23 laps / handling

2021 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Brad Smith Motorsports, Kimmel Racing, Rette Jones Racing, Young’s Motorsports

2021 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (3)

2nd) Ford (1)

2021 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

CUP: Josh Bilicki prevails in race-long last-place battle with Matt Mills in Kansas

PHOTO: @joshbilicki

Josh Bilicki picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Buschy McBusch Race 400 at the Kansas Speedway when his #52 RBR Aviation Ford finished under power after completing 250 of 267 laps.

The finish came in Bilicki’s 46th series start. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 30th for the #52, the 39th where the driver finished running, and the 706th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 46th where the car was under power, the 60th for the #52, and the 972nd for Ford.

Just four years removed from his NASCAR debut, the Wisconsin native enjoyed a career year in 2020, when he competed in a combined 34 Cup, XFINITY, and Truck Series races. While his best XFINITY runs came on the road courses of which he’s most familiar, including a 12th at the Daytona Road Course and a 13th on the rainy Charlotte “Roval,” his best Truck run actually came at Texas. Driving for Josh Reaume at the time, Bilicki was on his way to a strong 16th-place finish when Ben Rhodes wrecked him on the final lap. Even then, Bilicki still managed to finish 19th.

The performances earned Bilicki a full-time ride in Rick Ware Racing’s #52 Ford, one of three Chartered entries fielded by the team. He began the year by qualifying for his first-ever Daytona 500, where he avoided the Lap 14 pileup to finish a career-best 24th. He then improved that run by one more spot, taking 23rd at Martinsville. Coming into Kansas, he had made every Cup race, failing to finish only two, but other than Daytona and Martinsville finished no better than 30th. He’d start 37th at Kansas, where RBR Aviation would sponsor him for the first time in 2021. When his sponsor couldn't make it to the track, Bilicki offered up the two suite passes to his fans on Twitter.

Rolling off 39th and last was Matt Mills, who made his Cup Series debut in the return of B.J. McLeod Motorsports’ Cup team. Mills, who entered the race with 79 XFINITY starts and 11 in Trucks, took the wheel of a gray #55 Siebert Electric / J.F. Electric Ford. Joining him in the back would be three drivers sent to the rear for pre-race penalties: unapproved adjustments dropped back 22nd-place starter Anthony Alfredo in the #38 Dude Wipes Ford while two inspection failures docked both 24th-place Ross Chastain in the #42 Clover Chevrolet and 27th-place Erik Jones in the #43 Black Entrepreneur Initiative Chevrolet.

When the race started, Mills took over last place, and was already 1.040 seconds back of the next car in line at the end of the first lap. The gap grew steadily as the rest of the tail end of the field came apart. By Lap 11, Bilicki had dropped to 38th, but Mils was another 3.425 seconds back of him. This meant Mills was the first to be lapped as he exited Turn 4 on the 14th circuit. The McLeod team instructed their young driver to try different lines and follow other cars. He lost a second lap to the leaders around Lap 23 as they passed by in the high lane.

When the competition caution fell on Lap 27, Mills came in to tighten up his car, and it was left up to the driver which lane he’d choose for the restart. He was three laps down by Lap 38, and one lap behind 38th-place Bilicki. On Lap 46, Mills passed Bilicki on track, but remained in last due to the one-lap gap. Soon after on Lap 51, NASCAR warned Bilicki to pick up his speed. Seven laps later, Mills lost a fourth lap as the leaders this time passed him on the inside. Two laps later, Mills was finally on the same lap as Bilicki, and dropped the #52 to last place.

Bilicki held the last spot for much of the rest of the race, reporting his car was loose. He made it to the end of Stage 1 on Lap 80, then came in to get a packer removed from the left-front. The car was now sputtering, and Bilicki’s crew had him shut off the engine and re-fire it to reboot the car’s ECU. The driver thought the car had a fuel pump or fuel line issue, but he was told by his crew that they’d replaced the fuel pump since their last start and that it had new wiring. Bilicki would later tweet that he had a fuel pressure issue which forced him to pit for fuel every 20 laps.

When the race restarted on Lap 88, Bilicki pulled ahead of Mills, dropping the #55 back to last place. Mills held the spot until Lap 114, when Bilicki pitted for four tires, fuel, and a packer put in the right-front suspension. By then, the sputtering problem returned, and there were doubts the car would make it to the finish.

As Stage 2 wore on, Bilicki and Mills were 8 and 7 laps down, respectively, putting them some distance behind other struggling backmarkers. On Lap 123, Cody Ware spun his #51 Nurtec ODT Chevrolet at the entrance to pit road, but didn’t draw a caution. Even with the commitment line penalty, Ware dropped no lower than 38th between Mills and Bilicki, then climbed past Mills soon after. Quin Houff in the #00 8 Ball Chocolate Whiskey Chevrolet incurred a penalty of his own soon after for a wrench left in his rear glass, which dropped him to the same lap as both Bilicki and Mills – each nine laps down. Houff didn’t take the spot. Instead, Mills took last on Lap 130, then Bilicki on Lap 134 as he fought a tight condition.

Bilicki’s pit stop on Lap 142 opened up a lap on Mills, and two laps later he was shown 10 down with Mills down 9. They remained in the same spots at the end of Stage 2 on Lap 160, during which time Bilicki made an extra stop to top off his fuel cell. With still no one out of the race, minor incidents involving Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman saw both drivers drop no worse than 28th. By then, Bilicki was well on his way toward setting a new record for most laps complete by a last-place finisher at Kansas. The previous record was 247 laps, set by Ty Dillon on May 12, 2018. If the race ended at its scheduled distance, Bilicki could beat the record simply by losing no more than 19 total laps.

With 56 laps to go, all 39 starters were still on the track, and Bilicki was 15 laps down, three full circuits back of Mills. Bilicki made his final stop on Lap 223, the crew changing their call for two rounds on the track bar to three, looking for more drive off the center of the corners. NASCAR’s delayed caution for Tyler Reddick’s loose wheel on pit road finally fell on Lap 231, with Bilicki shown 17 laps back. No one fell out of the race until Lap 258 – just nine laps to go – when Christopher Bell collected JTG-Daugherty Racing teammates Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in the #47 Kroger / Energizer Chevrolet and Ryan Preece in the #37 Nature Valley Chevrolet. Both would ultimately fall no further than 34th and 32nd, respectively. They were the day’s only retirees.

On Lap 265, when the one lap to green signal was given for the final restart, Bilicki completed his 248th lap, besting Ty Dillon’s record. He finished the final two laps for a total of 250, five laps back of Mills. Houff, Ware, and the #15 Explore Branson Chevrolet of Joey Gase rounded out the Bottom Five.

ERIC MCCLURE (1978-2021)

On behalf of LASTCAR.info, I would like to extend my condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Eric McClure, who passed away earlier today at the age of 42. While McClure never found his way to victory lane, he was far from a regular LASTCAR feature. He finished last in only three of his 288 XFINITY Series races, and only his last – at Las Vegas in 2013 – was featured here. He was also instrumental in helping build Front Row Motorsports, and with his steady backing from Hefty, funded some of the team’s early efforts in the Cup Series.

At a time where Cup drivers stole most of the victories and championships from series regulars like himself, McClure and his determination helped rebuild the XFINITY Series into what it is today, where similar underdogs continue to fight the good fight against the high-powered Cup teams. He will be missed, and will live on in the cherished moments where the little guy breaks through.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #52 in a Cup race at Kansas, and the first for the number in a Cup points race since October 13, 2019, when Spencer Boyd’s turn in the Rick Ware Racing entry at Talladega ended with a blown engine after 53 laps.

*Bilicki became the 38th driver to complete the LASTCAR Triple Crown, and the second driver to accomplish this feat in the last three races:

THE BOTTOM FIVE

39) #52-Josh Bilicki / 250 laps / running 

38) #55-Matt Mills / 255 laps / running

37) #00-Quin Houff / 256 laps / running

36) #51-Cody Ware / 257 laps / running

35) #15-Joey Gase / 258 laps / running

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Motorsports Business Management, Rick Ware Racing, Spire Motorsports (2)

2nd) Chip Ganassi Racing, Front Row Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, StarCom Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (6)

2nd) Ford (3)

3rd) Toyota (2)

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

TRUCKS: Kansas sees Ryan Reed score first last-place finish of NASCAR career

PHOTO: @CMIMotorsports

Ryan Reed picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Truck Series career in Saturday’s Wise Power 200 at the Kansas Speedway when his #49 Frontline Wraps Toyota fell out with steering issues after 27 of 140 laps.

The finish came in Reed’s fourth series start. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 3rd for the #49, the 4th for steering issues, and the 39th for Toyota. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 28th for steering problems, the 60th for the #49, and the 354th for Toyota.

Much like Charlie Kimball and Conor Daly in the IndyCar Series, Ryan Reed has built a career in racing while building awareness of diabetes, which he was diagnosed with in 2011. He’s best known for his time in Roush-Fenway Racing’s XFINITY Series program, where he debuted as driver of the #16 Ford at Richmond on April 26, 2013. He finished 16th that day, then earned his first top-ten finish when the series returned there in September. For the next five seasons, he’d run full-time in the series, and was twice the winner of the Daytona opener in 2015 and 2017. He also made a lone Cup start at Talladega in 2016, finishing 26th in the #99.

The run came to an end in late 2018, when sponsor Lily Diabetes pulled their backing. Roush-Fenway shut down their XFINITY Series program altogether, leaving Reed without a ride. He’d make just one start in all of 2019, but made the most of it. Driving for DGR-Crosley’s Toyota team, Reed finished 9th in Las Vegas. It was the first race he’d started in the series since his debut on September 28, 2012 at the same track. 

This year, Reed has teamed up with CMI Motorsports, a two-truck operation that threatened to shut down amidst last year’s many controversies. Reed ran two weeks ago at Richmond, taking 29th in CMI’s flagship #49 Chevrolet. It was his 175th combined start in Cup, XFINITY, and Trucks, having never once finished in last place.

For Saturday’s race in Kansas, he’d run a Toyota – though preliminary entry lists still showed him in a Chevrolet. New sponsorship came from Frontline Wraps, complete with mascot “Wrapper Rick” on the rear deck. The neon-hued truck would roll off from the 33rd spot.

Rolling off 40th and last was C.J. McLaughlin, who was announced late as the driver of Josh Reaume’s second truck, the #34 Sci Aps Toyota. He’d incur a redundant tail-end penalty for the resulting driver change, along with 26th-place Bayley Currey. Currey had taken over the #45 Sharky’s Pub & Grub Chevrolet after Brett Moffitt announced he’d changed from Truck Series to XFINITY Series points for the remainder of the season. NASCAR instructed McLaughlin to start to Currey’s outside in the final row.

By the time the race went green, however, Jennifer Jo Cobb had dropped back from the 39th spot in her #10 Fastener Supply Company Ford. The truck, apparently a former ThorSport entry from footage taken at her shop, was the first Ford she’d started in a Truck Series race since August 17, 2013, when she finished 25th at Michigan. She held the spot through the first lap, then on Lap 2 worked her way past Norm Benning in his blue #6 MDS A Sign Co Chevrolet. Benning had already had a miserable day of his own, as outside his hotel, someone stole his personal truck which had towed his trailer to the track. As of this writing, the truck has yet to have been recovered, stranding the Norm Benning Racing team at the track.

Norm Benning pulls into the garage after not
maintaining minimum speed.
PHOTO: @DnfRacers

Two other drivers were quick to join the last-place battle. When the green flag dropped, the inside line got off to a slow start, causing two trucks to jump out of line. Timmy Hill was set to start 25th in his #56 Camping World Chevrolet with Spencer Boyd behind him in 27th, driving the #20 Angry Brew Chevrolet. Hill cut left with Boyd even further to his inside, which drew NASCAR’s attention as both moved before crossing the line. Each driver pleaded their case with Hill demanding the replay be examined. Hill came in for his pass-through on Lap 4, when he was served the black flag with the white cross, indicating the stopping of scoring. Boyd didn’t come in until around Lap 6. By Lap 9, Boyd was shown in last, two laps down, with Hill one down in 39th, trailing the now-lapped Benning and Cobb.

On Lap 15, Boyd finally climbed past Benning into 39th while Hill had now reached 35th. Two laps later became the moment Ryan Reed entered the picture. During an unscheduled green-flag stop which dropped him to last place, Reed was caught speeding in Section 16. He came back in for repairs, saying “something’s broke in the back,” and after he returned on Lap 21, five laps down, was told he’d still have to serve his pass-through. In the meantime, NASCAR flagged two trucks for not maintaining minimum speed – Benning’s #6 and Jesse Iwuji in the #33 Vote For Jesse Chevrolet. Both complied and came in for adjustments.

On Lap 23, Reed was again called in for his pass-through, which he served by the 35th circuit, when he pulled behind the wall. By now, the team was having radio issues and had difficulty hearing their driver. There was little radio communication after that, and NASCAR confirmed he was out due to steering issues on Lap 78. Also declared out in the same transmission was Benning, who cited a loose plug wire as the reason he couldn’t keep up minimum speed. On Lap 49, Benning had just come in for further adjustments when he was told NASCAR had parked him for running too slow. “You better talk to these people,” said Benning to his team. “We’re here to race. We had an issue and we fixed it.”

Jennifer Jo Cobb pulling off at pit exit, which ultimately
drew the caution flag.
PHOTO: @DnfRacers

Jesse Iwuji would likewise be parked after his second warning for not maintaining minimum speed. He’d originally gone to the garage on Lap 65 for radio issues, returned on Lap 67, then was posted his second time on Lap 88. Like Benning, Iwuji was on pit road at the same time, completing a stop for four tires and fuel. “Again, 33 will need to go to the garage,” NASCAR reported. The team then attempted to remove their new tires and put on the old ones before they ended up dropping the window net and pushing the truck behind the wall. He finished 38th.

Taking 37th was Cobb, whose Ford had issues coming off pit road on many of her stops. With just five laps to go in regulation, her truck stopped at the garage entrance just past the exit of pit road, drawing a caution that shook up the lineup for two overtime finishes. Electrical issues were the cited reason, and Cobb’s truck was loaded onto Spencer Davis’ team hauler after the event.

After his tail-end penalty to start the race, Bayley Currey had worked his way up to 3rd for the final green-white-checkered restart, right behind teammate Ross Chastain. Unfortunately, contact among the leaders dropped him to 12th in the final running order. Currey’s career-best in the series remains his 6th-place run for Niece at Michigan in 2019.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first Truck Series last-place finish for a Toyota since August 7, 2020, when Stewart Friesen crashed out after 49 laps of the Henry Ford Health System 200 at Michigan.

*This was the first last-place finish for the #49 at Kansas. The number most recently finished last in the series on October 25, 2020, when Tim Viens crashed after 29 laps of the SpeedyCash.com 400 at Texas.

*Reed is the first Truck Series driver to finish last with steering issues since July 29, 2017, when Mike Senica’s run in the #57 Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet ended after 2 laps of the Overton’s 150 at Pocono.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

40) #49-Ryan Reed / 27 laps / steering

39) #6-Norm Benning / 42 laps / too slow

38) #33-Jesse Iwuji / 73 laps / too slow

37) #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb / 106 laps / electrical

36) #12-Tate Fogleman / 130 laps / running

2021 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Niece Motorsports (3)

2nd) GMS Racing (2)

3rd) CMI Motorsports, Norm Benning Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (6)

2nd) Toyota (1)

2021 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP